E.Guinea president says Gambia’s Jammeh ‘will not be extradited’

Equatorial
Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has said he will not agree to any
extradition order for former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh, who has been living
in exile in the central African country after being forced to quit power last
year.

Jammeh,
who seized control of The Gambia in a 1994 military coup, lost a democratic
election and refused to step aside until threatened with military intervention.

The
Gambian strongman is accused by the current government and rights groups of
ordering the torture and murder of political opponents during his brutal
22-year rule, while pocketing $50 million (40 million euros) from the state
coffers.

“I
believe that the stance of protecting former heads of state is a correct one,”
Obiang said late Friday after meeting with African Union leader Alpha Conde,
who is also Guinea’s president.

“I
hail Alpha Conde who told me he will not accept any demand for Yahya Jammeh’s
extradition. Even I will not accept it.

“We
are in full agreement that Yahya Jammeh must be protected. He must be respected
as a former African leader. Because this is a guarantee for other African
leaders that they will not be harassed after they leave power,” said Obiang,
who has ruled his own country with an iron fist since 1979.

The
comments caused anger in Banjul, where Gambian victims are slowly building a
case against the former president that analysts believe has the quiet backing
of the new government.

Amadou
Scattred Janneh, a former information minister imprisoned by the ex-leader’s
regime turned leading member of the “Jammeh to Justice” campaign, said the case
“will not depend solely on Obiang.”

“We
have a duty to intensify the pressure on President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea
to ensure that Jammeh and his accomplices are ultimately brought to trial,” he
told AFP.

However,
he added, “It is not up to dictators to determine whether or not their
colleagues should face justice.”AFP